Schwetzingen SWR Festival: Die Fledermaus

Johann Strauss' operetta in an abridged version by Boris Aljinovic (text and narrator), performed by the *clair-obscur saxophone quartet.* "Slightly abridged and highly spiced": according to Florian Vogel, director of the Kleist Forum in Frankfurt (Oder), this is how this version of Johann Strauss' bitterly satirical operetta *Die Fledermaus* should be. Guaranteeing that brevity really is the soul of wit here are actor Boris Aljinovic, who will perform his own version of the text because there will be no singing this evening, and the *clair-obscur saxophone quartet*. The fact that this ensemble takes its name from chiaroscuro painting, which was often used in the Baroque period to enhance contrasts and expression, is likely to set the tone for the musical part of the adaptation: the operetta's many hits are served up in such an edgy, lively, and virtuoso manner that there is no need to fear encountering a mere "little bat" here. On the contrary, the concentrate focuses even more strongly on the hypocrisy of people whose emotion is only feigned. The great art lies in the fact that this unmasking is extremely entertaining and funny. And in the end, there remains an anarchic escape route: the great intoxication. Drinking makes the eyes bright – long live King Champagne! **A production of the Kleist Forum**